


All Grown Up

by ebineez01



Series: Heartbreaker [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25876741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebineez01/pseuds/ebineez01
Summary: Sequel to Heartbreaker. Teenage Sam goes to camp and meets her hero once again. This will probably still make sense if you don't go back and read Heartbreaker first, but it would make more sense if you did.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Heartbreaker [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877758
Comments: 57
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is AU and will be screwing with some timelines.  
> I don't know if there actually is an Air Force Academy pre-camp for teens, but my brother went to something similar when he was younger as a precursor to joining the Navy so this is my take on it if there was an Air Force version.  
> Jack isn't married and Sam is a few months away from turning 18.  
> As in the summary this will make much more sense if you go and read Heartbreaker first. And Heartbreaker is only like 700 words long, so why not!? ;-)  
> I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it :-)
> 
> (Migrated from fanficfion.net)

"Excuse me Sir?" The girl asked the Captain in charge of their flight training.

"Yes?" He replied looking up from his clipboard.

When chocolate eyes met bright blue she smiled. The smile faltered after a moment when he didn't respond further. "Sorry," she apologised uncertainly. "I thought you'd remember me..."

Jacks heart squeezed in his chest at the disappointed look on her face. A look he'd caused. His glance moved over her quickly. A lot had changed about Samantha Carter over the last six or seven years since they'd last met at space camp but those big blue eyes were unmistakable.

"Of course I remember you Carter!" He exclaimed. A huge grin broke over her features at his admission and Jack smiled. "I nearly didn't recognise you," he admitted. "But I could never forget you," he finished softly.

Sam blushed at Jacks words, thinking that he was even more perfect than she remembered.

"C'mere," he said holding his arms wide.

Sam thought she was in heaven as she stepped into his embrace. "You probably just remember me as some goofy little kid," she replied turning her face into his neck. "But I'm all grown up now Jack." Sam breathed in the clean scent of him thinking about how she had dreamed of this moment.

 _Oh boy_...he thought as she hugged him tightly feeling her lips move against his skin as she spoke. _You can say that again_..

xxxxxxxx

Sam turned away from the serving line and looked for a place to sit. Her face fell a little when she realised that Jack wasn't there so she headed for an empty table. When she sat down she heard a few of the guys sitting at a nearby table sniggering amongst themselves. Sam knew they were talking about her. A few days ago when they had first arrived at the camp one of them had asked her out and even though she had politely said _'no thanks'_ , he wouldn't take no for an answer, so she ended up persuading him to leave her alone the way her dad had taught her. She socked him in the mouth. Now Sam did her best to ignore them. She knew the only reason she didn't get kicked out when she'd hit the guy was because her dad was a good friend of the CO of the training camp.

"Where's your boyfriend Carter?" One of them called over to her.

"Not sitting next to _you_ Barney!" Sam replied referring to the boy who'd asked her out.

"At least you know why she didn't want you Dan," Barney said loudly to his friend. "She's into _older_ guys!"

Sam looked over to them then. "What are you taking about? I don't even have a boyfriend you jerk!"

"Yeah sure!" Called Barney. "We saw you getting all up close and mushy with Captain O'Neill this morning!"

Sam's eyes widened and she blushed. "Jack is not my boyfriend!" _You just wish he was_ , her brain added.

The table of youths laughed and called out more taunts pretending to hug and kiss each other. "Ohhh...Jack!" "We love you Jack..."

Sam was mortified as she looked past their shoulders to see who was walking towards them from the serving line. "Shut up you guys," she hissed.

Jack stopped behind the table of boys taking in their behaviour.

"Hey guys!" He said loudly to get their attention.

The boys stopped their antics.

"I'm flattered, really," Jack finished, smiling as he moved past them to sit down next to Sam.

"Excuse us Sir," the loudmouth Barney cringed.

"You're excused," Jack replied not so jovially this time. When they didn't move he turned back to them. "And by that I actually meant get the hell out!" As the boys scampered Jack turned back to Sam and winked, a slight smirk on his lips.

Sam smiled as the boys just about tripped over one another to get out of the mess hall and away from Jack. They all respected him and thought he was a great pilot, but they were all also scared witless of him at the same time.

After a moment when Sam hadn't spoken Jack looked at her.

"You wanna tell me what all that was about?"

She shrugged. "They can't resist you obviously."

"Oh _obviously_ ," Jack said dryly and settled in to eat his dinner realising he wasn't going to get anymore out of her tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter :-) I’d love for you to let me know as these are just about my favourite characters to write


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who have read so far, hope you enjoy this next chapter

Jack was pretty sure he knew what the commotion had been about last night in the mess hall, plus he'd overheard a few comments made by the boys he had the 'pleasure' of instructing this morning. He made sure not to pay Carter too much extra attention even though she deserved his attention so much more than those little...

"Calm down Jack," he mumbled to himself as he helped Carter strap herself in to the old fighter they were about to take up.

"Did you say something Sir?" Sam asked, her heart beating wildly at having Jack so close to her. _Holy Hannah he smells so nice._

"Ah, nothing really Carter. Just haven't been up in one of these for a while," he lied.

Much to his annoyance she had started calling him 'Sir' this morning after the incident in the mess hall. But even he had to admit that it was probably a good idea since none of the others would dare call him anything but. She was one smart cookie he had to give her that. He looked at her a moment. _God those eyes get me every time! She shouldn't have to deal with jerks like that! It just makes me so so mad thinking about some pimply, gangly kid pawing at her...she deserves something better than that...something like you Jack?_

Jack blew out a breath and smiled at her, trying to will away _that_ particular train of thought. _She's just a kid for cryin out loud!_ As he reached across her for the other harness strap that reasoning was pretty much blown out the cockpit! _Some kid!_

"All set," he said tapping her on the leg when he'd finished strapping her in.

She beamed at him. "I can't wait to get up there and fly with you Jack." Her eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth when she'd realised her slip up. "Sorry Sir," she corrected quickly.

Jack laughed. "That's okay Carter," he moved in towards her as if wanting to speak confidentially.

Sam's heart was beating so hard now she knew he just had to be able to hear it

"I'd like you to still call me Jack when those little jackasses aren't around."

Sam giggled. "They are jackasses aren't they?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah they are, especially that one..."

Sam rolled her eyes. _"Barney!"_

"Yeah him." Jack studied her face before continuing. "What was he sprouting off about in the mess hall last night anyway?" He knew he probably shouldn't ask but he couldn't stop himself.

Sam started to panic, she didn't want to lie to him, but how could she tell him she was completely and madly in love with him and they were teasing her about him being her boyfriend!? Then it struck her...tell the truth...just don't tell all of it. She shrugged trying to be as casual as she could. "Barney's friend Dan asked me to go to the end of camp dance with him and I said no."

Jack scrunched up his face and held up a hand to stop her. "Wait...there's a dance?"

Sam nodded.

"Nobody tells me anything!" He complained.

"Well I'm sure there must have been a memo or something," Sam reasoned.

Jack pictured his overflowing inbox and shook his head. "Never mind that now," Jack said wanting to take the focus of the conversation away from his lack of memo reading skills. "Hasn't anyone noticed that you're the only girl here Carter?" he asked. "Won't that put the boy girl thing off a bit?"

Sam giggled thinking of Barney and Dan dancing together. _Slow dancing_ _together_.

"There's a "girls camp" in the next county," Sam explained putting the girls camp in air quotes and rolling her eyes at the same time.

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked, the thought bringing back years of summer camp memories. "What's the camp for?"

Sam shrugged. "Don't know, could be just a summer camp I think."

"And what's wrong with that?" Jack asked noticing Sam's seeming contempt for the idea.

"Have you ever been to a girls camp Jack?"

Again that brought back teenage memories, but of the kind that he didn't think he should share just now. "Can't say that I have Carter."

"Well it's so boring!" She exclaimed. "All they want you to do is stuff _they_ think girls should do and should be interested in."

"Ah I see," replied Jack, understanding why Carter wouldn't enjoy having those particular stereotypes thrust upon her. "And that's it?" He asked skeptically.

"That's what?" She asked.

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes. "That's what all the fuss was about in the mess hall last night?"

Sam knew she shouldn't be proud of resorting to violence to sort out her problems but she couldn't help the smile that surfaced. "Well he wouldn't really take no for an answer..."

"That little prick!" Jack interrupted indignantly, looking around the airstrip for the offender. "Wait until I get my hands on him!"

Sam was secretly thrilled by Jacks reaction, deciding to interpret it as jealousy even though she knew her dad would have reacted exactly the same. "That's why I punched him in the face," she replied ducking her head a little.

Jacks eyebrows rose. "You did what?"

Sam looked down at her lap feeling suitably chastised just by the look on Jacks face. "I know I shouldn't have hit him, and I'm lucky that I didn't get kicked out, but..." She was pulled up short by Jacks bark of laughter. She looked up to see him staring at her with something like pride on his face.

"Sounds like the jerk deserved it Carter," he looked at her earnestly. "Don't ever be afraid to stick up for yourself."

Sam grinned at his praise.

"Good for you kid," he said nudging her leg.

Her grin dropped instantly. _Kid!? He thinks I'm still a kid..._ she thought miserably.

Jack noticed the affect his words had on her and sighed inwardly. _Don't pretend you haven't noticed the way she's been looking at you Jack...and don't pretend you've done_ anything _to discourage it..._

Jack pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind deciding they were just too damn difficult to deal with right now, instead turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"Enough of the small talk...let's get up there huh?" His mood lightened when that smile returned to her face. _That smile she gives only to you._ "Shut up for just five minutes would ya!?" he grumbled at his subconscious as he climbed into the back of the cockpit and secured his own harness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos, glad you’re enjoying 🙂

Sam was so excited by the time she made it back to her room that night she could hardly stand it. She couldn't think of a better day in her whole life. She got to spend nearly the whole day with Jack, lucky enough to have had him pretty much to herself and she was sure now, by the way he had treated her today that he most definitely didn't think of her as a kid anymore. She flopped back on her bed and grinned stupidly up at the ceiling remembering the best parts.

She didn't think it could get any better than going up in the air with him, and even now she admitted that the thrill of flying, especially with him was hard to beat. She couldn't believe it when he had actually let her take the controls for a little while.

Then they had landed and she had expected him to shoo her from the cockpit so that the next person could have their go, but to both their surprise the other guys that were supposed to go up today were on a punishment duty because they'd been caught with a bottle of vodka behind the hanger.

Jack rolled his eyes when the duty sergeant told him the news.

"Dumbasses!" He exclaimed shaking his head.

The sergeant laughed. "Yeah they could at least have had the good sense not to get caught."

Sam snorted. "That lot wouldn't have enough sense between them to make change for a dollar!"

The sergeant raised his eyebrows and Jack burst out laughing.

"Well it looks like you've got the rest of the day off anyway Captain," the sergeant said after a moment.

"What? You mean all of them..."

The sergeant nodded. "All of them," he confirmed. "At least all the ones that you were scheduled to take up today that is."

Jack sighed as he watched the sergeant walk away to tend his duties before he turned to look down at Sam. "So what are you up to for the rest of the day?"

"They only really scheduled the flight with you today," she replied.

"So?" He asked again.

Sam shrugged a little self consciously. "I was going to go over the theory stuff about aeronautics and astrophysics they gave us."

Jack threw back his head. "Boring!" He intoned.

"Hey I'm interested in all that _boring_ stuff!" Sam replied a little sharper than she'd intended. When Jack gave her a look she hastily added "Sir..."

"Well if you'd rather spend the rest of this glorious day," he motioned at their surroundings with outstretched arms. "...with your nose stuck in a book down here..." he then pointed skyward. "Than spend the day with your head in the clouds up there...there's not much I can do about it," he finished sadly.

Sam's eyes widened as she realised what he was saying. "You mean..."

"That I was going to take you flying again?" He asked. "Yep! But since you don't want to go..." He threw his hands in the air and started to walk off towards the hangers.

Sam thought for only a moment before she followed hot on his heels. "But that was just what I was planning on doing when I didn't think I'd have anything _else_ to do!" She explained.

Jack shook his head as he kept walking. "Hey Carter," he replied. "Whatever floats your boat..."

"Jack, please," she pleaded running so she could move in front of him.

Jack came to a stop and pretended to consider her plea, never having any intention of _not_ taking her flying again today. "Well I'm not sure how I feel about being categorised as 'anything else'..."

At the almost desperate look on her face he couldn't continue teasing her any longer.

He sighed dramatically. "Oh alright then..."

Sam squealed and flung her arms around his neck. _Oh my goodness! I just squealed like a girl! I've never squealed before..._

Jack cleared his throat. "Ah Carter?"

At Jacks words Sam suddenly realised what she was doing and who she was doing it to. Hastily she jumped back away from him. "Sorry Sir," she replied, unable to keep the smile from her face for long.

As she stepped away from him Jack hated to admit that he missed the contact. _Get a grip here Jack..._

"So we're going back up?" Sam asked breaking into Jacks thoughts.

"Yep!"

She started walking back towards the old fighter they had just landed.

"Hey Carter," Jack called after her. When she turned back to look at him he continued. "Go get something to eat and I'll come find you."

"But..."

"Ah!" He interrupted. "I need to take care of something first and I also need pie before I get back into a plane!"

Sam smiled at that remembering how when she was younger Jack had saved extra pie for her at space camp. "Okay," she replied as she headed off towards the mess hall.

xxxxxxx

"I didn't think you were ever coming," Sam complained when Jack finally sat down with her to eat his pie.

He looked at his watch. "Jeez Carter! It's only been thirty minutes..."

Sam looked suitably abashed knowing that he was doing her a favour by taking her up again today.

When they finally left the mess after Jack had finished his third piece of pie Sam started walking towards where they had left the old fighter plane only to notice it was gone. "Hey someone's put it away!"

Jack smiled as he walked off in the other direction.

Sam followed him after a moment. "Where are we going?"

Jack just turned and look back at her not answering,

After a few more minutes walking Jack stopped and beamed down at his young friend.

Sam looked up to him and shrugged. "What? I don't get it."

Jack rolled his eyes and gestured towards the jet sitting on the Tarmac about 100 feet from them.

Sam was quiet for a moment as she digested what this meant. "You mean we're going up in _that_?"

"Yep," Jack couldn't help but grin at the completely astonished look on her face. Though he well knew that this specially designed F15 that was fitted out for training purposes was not usually...well ever...used to take up kids that were attending this camp.

She turned her eyes to him. "But how did you..."

Jack shrugged. "Ah you know how it goes...I know a guy who knows a guy..." He made it sound as if it were no big deal when it fact it had been an extremely big deal for him to get permission to do this. He actually thought they were on the verge of saying no when they asked who he wanted to take up. After that they made a relatively quick phone call and he was given the all clear to take Carter flying in a real fighter jet.

"Thank you Jack," she said looking almost reverently at the plane.

"You're welcome Carter," he replied softly, thinking the look on her face when she realised she was going up in the jet was worth ten times the trouble he had gone to.

Jack repeated the process of strapping Sam in to her harness before putting the helmet on her head.

"You won't need the mask for oxygen but you will need to place it near your mouth for Comms so we can talk."

Sam nodded listening earnestly to everything Jack said. Even his close proximity to her when he'd been fastening her harness had taken a back seat compared to the thrill she was feeling at the anticipation of this flight.

"All good?" He asked then.

Sam grinned at him and nodded. "Yep."

Jack climbed into the cockpit behind her as he'd done earlier in the older plane, though they were sitting closer as there wasn't as much room in this retrofitted cockpit. He fastened his harness and fitted his own helmet to his head. Pulling the mask around to his mouth he keyed the Comms. "You ready for this?"

"Oh yeah!" Sam replied.

Jack laughed before getting on with business. He started the engine and ran through all his preflight checks saying them in to the mic for Carters benefit. Then he contacted the control tower and when they told him he was clear for takeoff the jet started to move. He grinned stupidly when he heard a " _woo hoo_ " issue loudly from the front seat.

"Just wait until you get up there Carter," Jack said to her.

"This is so awesome Jack I can't believe it! I know all the specs of an actual F15, but how does this one compare?" She asked him as they taxied along the runway.

"This my dear Carter started life on the assembly line as an actual combat spec plane," Jack smiled when he heard Sam's gasp. "Then the Air Force retrofitted it for training. So it pretty much has all the bells and whistles."

" _Woo hoo!_ " Sam hollered again as Jack pushed forward on the throttle and they were forced back in their seats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I hoped you enjoyed and I’d love for you to lemme know 😍


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and leaving comments and kudos, much appreciated 😍  
> This is a continuation of Sam's day with Jack. It's spaced it over a few chapters.  
> Hope you enjoy 🙂

When they got back from the F15 flight, and Jack had been chewed out over staying up for twice as long as he was supposed to, he told Sam to go get changed into jeans and to bring along a jacket and meet him at the front gate.

As ordered, fifteen minutes later Sam was walking towards the gatehouse and noticed Jack chatting to the gatehouse guard. _Holy Hannah he looks good_ , she thought as she got closer. _I thought he looked good in BDU's, and he looks_ really _good in a flight suit, but..._ Her eyes wandered over him, taking in his worn old blue jeans... _wow he has a really nice butt_ , she thought and felt herself blush. She also noticed the nicely fitting black t-shirt he wore wore... _and I love his arms_...and to top off the look, aviator shades perched on his nose.

"Hey here she is," he said smiling as she approached them.

When Sam saw Jack turn her way and smile she felt her tummy do a weird little flippy thing. And then she promptly tripped over a pothole in the road, just managing to recover before she hit the deck. _Oh god I hope he didn't notice that..._

"Hey watch where you're going Carter," Jack called to her.

_Crud!_ Despite her mortification at Jack thinking she was a total klutz Sam managed a smile for the guy in the guard hut as she and Jack walked out to the carpark.

"Make sure you have her home by midnight," the guard called after them chuckling.

Jack turned back and continued to walk next to her backwards as he gestured to the guard. She didn't see exactly what he had done, but she had a pretty good idea by the guards increase in laugher.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked after Jack had turned back.

He shrugged. "I dunno really," he admitted. "Just thought it'd be nice to get out for the afternoon."

Sam smiled brightly at him in response.

Then Jack stopped alongside a huge motorcycle.

Sam's eyes goggled. "We're going on _that!?_ "

He laughed at her reaction. "I take it you haven't had much to do with motorcycles."

Sam shook her head.

"Well from the way you reacted when we were doing all those aerobatics in the jet earlier, you're going to love it," Jack assured her.

Sam still didn't look too convinced.

"Hey," Jack said placing a finger under her chin so that she looked him in the eye. "You trust me right?"

She gave him a look that he correctly translated as 'well duh!'

"So, there's nothing to worry about. I'm a really good rider and it's perfectly safe," he said to her reassuringly. "I'd never do anything to hurt you Carter."

Sam's heart leapt and her resolve strengthened with his words. Giving him a small smile as she pulled on her jacket she said, "so let's do this."

Jack smiled as he reached across the bike to unfasten the two helmets that hung there, handing one to her. After he fastened his own helmet strap he looked over to Carter to see her fumbling with hers. "Here let me," he said in a muffled voice as his hands took over from hers.

"Okay, so let me get on first and when I straighten the bike off its kickstand you get on behind me," he instructed her.

Sam nodded her understanding watching as Jack mounted the bike.

"Okay," he said when he was ready for her to hop on.

As Sam climbed on, the big bikes suspension dipped only slightly under her added weight. As Jack started the bike she thought the engine was nearly as loud as the jet had been. She looked around for something to grab onto. Realising that motorcycles apparently didn't have handles for passengers she tentatively placed her hands on Jacks shoulders.

"I won't be able to ride with your hands there," he said over his shoulder.

Sam dropped her hands, lamenting briefly over how nice it would have been, and then suddenly panicking a little about falling off.

When Jack realised that Carter wasn't going to put her arms around his waist of her own accord he reached behind him and grabbed her hands in both of his pulling them forward so that her arms were wrapped around him. "Don't want you falling off," he called back to her.

Thinking she was well and truly in heaven, Sam smiled and scooted a little further down the seat so that she could comfortably maintain the position he had put her in.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to lose Carter on the first turn Jack put the bike into gear and tore off out of the parking lot. He felt a vibration through his back and laughed at the much more muffled ' _woo hoo'_ that came from behind him.

Since this was Carters first time on a bike Jack had taken it relatively easy until they had reached a particularly windy section of road. He ramped it up a bit, not riding as he would if he were by himself but leaning it over pretty well just the same.

When they came out of the first set of bends onto a straight stretch of road Sam yelled in his ear. "On the next set of bends...go faster!"

Jack laughed. "That's my girl!" He called back to her.

Sam felt like she was going to burst, not even worrying that he had referred to her as a girl this time, solely focused on him calling her his.

After about an hour they pulled up at a gas station and Sam went to use to bathroom. When she returned Jack had finished filling up the bike and was waiting for her.

"So how are you liking it so far?" He asked.

She grinned. "I have officially changed my standard Christmas order from a horse to a motorcycle."

Jack blew out a breath before responding. "Okay, wow...I'm going to be popular this year." Sam laughed and the sound of it did something to him. He cleared his throat before continuing. "So the old guy inside said there's a really good place to eat out along this road, but it's still another hour or so away. You wanna..."

"Yes!" Sam interrupted as she pulled her helmet on over her head. "And Jack?" She said as he was getting ready to pull away from the gas pump. "Go faster!"

Jack shook his head and smiled ruefully. "I've created a monster!"

xxxxxxxxx

After about another hour or so they reached the roadside cafe. When they sat down for dinner Sam felt her face starting to ache from smiling so much.

Jack handed his menu back to their waitress and chuckled as he looked across the table at her.

"Having fun?"

Sam nodded, the smile not fading from her lips.

They ate burgers, they talked and they laughed.

Jack grinned. "Jeez I wish I could've seen that kids face when you slogged him."

Sam smiled and blushed just a little. "You know I'm pretty sure as the responsible adult influence here you're supposed to be frowning on resorting to physical violence, not wishing you'd had a front row seat."

Jack sighed. "Yeah well, out of the two of us I think you're closer to being the responsible adult influence than I am Carter."

She grinned back at him.

"What?"

Sam shook her head. "Nothing..."

" _What!?_ " Jack demanded.

Sam giggled. "After hearing some of your stories tonight I think you might be right."

"Hey!" Jack protested lobbing his napkin at her. "I pour out my soul to you and you mock me! Some friend you are Carter!"

That just made Sam giggle even more. "Sorry Jack...really..." She said as innocently as possible all the while struggling to keep a straight face.

"Yeah yeah," he grumbled. Then Sam tried on her best 'sad puppy' look. "Ah! And don't think I'll be falling for that either!" Then came a little pout and Jack shook his head. "Sorry...just not happening for ya Carter!"

Sam dropped the look and rolled her eyes. "You are officially unbreakable."

Jack smiled and stood from the table. "Come on," he said as he looked at his watch. "Let's get outta here. We're already gonna be in the crapper for you missing curfew."

Sam got up from the table and followed Jack out of the cafe. "You know," she said thoughtfully as she caught up with him at the bike. "Since you're Captain Unbreakable, maybe you should consider joining black ops."

Jack stopped with his helmet halfway to his head and stared at her, not for the first time wondering _Who the hell_ is _this kids father!?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC in the next chapter.  
> Hope you're enjoying it so far. Though maybe not as much as Sam is :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and leaving comments and kudos ❤️  
> This is a short little chapter closing out Sam’s day with Jack  
> Hope you enjoy 🙂

Two hours later they arrived back at the base. Jack killed the bikes engine and let it coast the last few hundred feet into the parking lot, trying to draw as little attention to them as possible. As it was he had to promise to introduce the gate guard to the camp nurse before the end of the week to get the guy to let them in without writing it up.

"Some honour among brothers code he's got!" Jack grumbled as he walked Sam to her cabin.

Sam walked quietly alongside him her heart thudding hard. _What if he tries to kiss me?_ Then she frowned. _What if he doesn't!?_ She wasn't sure which one scared her more. She knew she wanted desperately for him to kiss her, but at the same time she was scared out of her mind that he would.

Jack noticed that his companion had seemed preoccupied once they'd signed back into the base. He nudged her shoulder with his.

"Hey," he said quietly. "What's up?"

Sam shook her head in reply. "Nothing."

"You know if you're worried that we're going to get into trouble, don't be," he reassured her. "Johnson can be a bit of a dick, but he won't rat us out." They walked a little way further in silence. "And besides," he continued. "It's me they'd rip a new one not you."

They came within a hundred feet of her cabin and Sam's adrenaline kicked into high gear. _God why am I so terrified?_ So lost was she in her own thoughts it took her a couple of steps to realise that Jack had stopped.

When she turned back to look at him he raised an arm and pointed off to his left. "I'm over there," he said.

Sam looked to where he was pointing not really comprehending what he was saying.

Jack smiled. "I had a really good time today Carter," he said. "Thanks for keeping me company...even if it was at the expense of aeronautics and astrophysics."

Sam crossed her arms over her chest a little self consciously. _God he must think I'm such a geek! Wait! Oh my gosh! He said he had a really good time! Squeeeeal...stop that!_

"Well off you go," he said making a slight shooing motion with his hands. "I'll watch until you get inside."

Sam found she had mixed feelings about that comment. On one hand she was happy that he was concerned for her. On the other she bristled at the idea of him thinking she couldn't take care of herself.

"I'll be fine Jack!" She argued.

He raised a hand to stop any further argument. "You're my responsibility tonight Carter," he reasoned. "So off you go and get tucked in and have happy Carter dreams...of...flying doohickey's...from outer space..."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Flying outer space doohickey's?"

He shrugged. "What do you want?" He asked. "It's been a long day!"

Sam laughed. "It's been a wonderful day," she said shyly. She bit her bottom lip trying to give herself the courage to do what she really wanted to do.

Jack just looked at her. "Carter?"

_Just do it!_ She urged herself and felt her feet moving under her before she realised she'd told them to move.

One minute Carter was standing stock still looking like she was making some momentous decision, then the next thing Jack knew she had her arms flung around him her cheek pressed to his chest.

"This has been the best day of my life Jack," she mumbled into his shirt.

Then just as suddenly as she'd grabbed a hold of him she let go. Quickly standing on her toes she pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," she breathed before she turned and ran the rest of the way to her cabin.

Jack saw her safely inside, and for a moment he simply stared at the outside of the closed door. _Well that was..._

Unable to find the words to finish the thought he finally dragged his eyes away and blew out a breath as he moved off towards his own cabin. "Who am I kidding?" He mumbled, looking up to the quiet night sky. "I don't know what the hell that was..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who are reading and commenting and kudosing 🙂❤️  
> Hope you enjoy the next instalment 🙂

The next few days of the camp flew by and Sam loved every minute of it. There was a bit more time spent in the classroom, and some time spent on combat simulators. As much as she loved the science involved Sam had to admit that flying was her true love. Today was their last chance to get up in a plane before the end of the camp so they were all on their best behaviour. Since they'd been censured and missed out on flying once already, the guys in her group had quietened down a lot and she was happy that she hadn't had to hit anyone else.

Jack knew he had let his guard down a bit around Carter the last few days, and he found he had to keep reminding himself to keep his distance from her, finding it too easy to give her a friendly nudge or indulge in her brainiac explanations of just about everything. He was worried that people would start to notice that he took more of an interest in her than he probably should, and even though she was seventeen and he wouldn't be doing anything untoward in the eyes of the law, the eyes of the military saw things very differently.

So today he was all business when he fastened her harness. He noticed her face fall a little when he didn't interact with her as much so he made sure to give her a smile before he climbed in behind her.

Sam was a little downhearted when they took off, but once they were airborne all her cares dropped away and there was only the blue sky stretched out before her. "How could anyone ever want to do anything else?" She murmured.

Jack heard Carters mumbled words and a small smile came to his lips. _You're going to be doing so much more than this some day Carter..._

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"You know," Jack started as he dropped his fork on his half empty dinner plate. "The one thing you can always be sure of no matter where you get stationed in this world..."

Sam grinned at him as she finished the last of her dinner. "The food is always so good?"

Jack regarded her dubiously. "You're a sick woman Carter!"

_Woman_...Sam's stomach did the flippy thing...

"But," he continued as he switched plates. "Pie always makes things better."

"Maybe you should just skip straight to the pie," Sam suggested as she tucked into her own desert.

Jack pointed his fork at her. "Genius!"

They finished their pie and walked out into the balmy evening.

"Last day tomorrow," Sam commented quietly as they walked along the path heading nowhere in particular.

"Yep."

"And the dance is tomorrow night," she added.

"Yep," he agreed again, deliberately not looking at her.

"Are you going?"

"All the instructors are expected to attend," he replied.

Sam nodded. "Right. Of course. So...umm...well I was...thinking, that maybe..."

_Please God don't let the next words out of her mouth be 'we could go together'...short of faking a brain haemorrhage I really don't know how the hell I'd handle replying to that..._

_Spit it out Carter!_ She ordered herself. Feeling herself blush hotly she continued. "Well I thought that maybe, if it's okay, that you might want to dance with me?" The last few words coming out as little more than a squeak.

Jack did glance at her then.

"Just once I mean," Sam added quickly.

Jack let a hesitant smile reach his lips. "I think your dance card will be full enough without me on it Carter."

_I don't want anyone on it_ but _you Jack._ "That's unlikely," she replied instead.

Jack stopped and looked at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sam shrugged. "In case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly popular around here."

He regarded her a moment before shaking his head, a slight quirk reaching his lips. "You really don't see it do you?"

Sam frowned. "See what?"

"What other people see when they look at you."

Sam huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah! A big geeky know-it-all who's a goody two shoes to boot!"

Jack chuckled. "Carter the guys might give you a bit of a hard time to your face, but believe me, they are _all_ making serious goo-goo eyes at you behind your back."

"Very funny!" She scowled.

"I'm serious!" Jack replied, incredulous that she didn't believe him.

Sam considered this for a moment. "Then why do they act like that?" She demanded. "Why don't they just say what they really think?"

"They're teenage boys Carter," he replied as if that should explain everything. "Not that I'm saying that there's not exceptions to the rule, but we're pretty much all jerks at that age." Jack recalled with trepidation some of his less than stellar teenage moments. "And when there's a whole bunch of em..." He shrugged not really knowing what else to tell her.

She exhaled loudly. "Well even if what you're saying is true...why would I want to dance with a bunch of jerks anyway?"

"Cause that's life Carter," he replied simply. "To get to the good guys, unfortunately you'll probably have to go through a few jerks first."

They started back along the path and after a while Sam broke the silence.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Can't I just skip straight to the pie?"

Jack laughed at her reference to their earlier conversation. Knowing he probably shouldn't, but not really caring right now he slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side as they walked. "Who knows...maybe you can Carter."


	7. Chapter 7

Sam was excited when she woke up the next day. It was pretty much a free day for them to revisit any of the stuff that they'd done through the week, except the actual flying of course. She grinned up at the ceiling when she thought about the dance tonight. She had originally asked her dad to pick her up from the camp this afternoon, not at all interested in attending a dance at the end of the week. But then she got the camp information in the mail and found out that Jack would be an instructor and that had changed her mind. Her best friends mom had taken her to buy a special dress for the occasion and she couldn't wait for Jack to see her in it. _He'll just have to dance with me then..._

Sam was out early for breakfast and was a little disappointed that Jack wasn't there. Actually, she realised as she looked around there was pretty much no one there but her which wasn't really surprising. With no set schedule today they'd had no reveille this morning. Although she wanted to spend some time with the astrophysics professor, she knew that the combat simulators would be really popular later on in the day so she decided to go there first.

"Hey sergeant Thoms," she said as she entered the building the simulators were in.

"Hi Sam," the man greeted.

"Are there any simulators free?"

He smiled at her. "You can just about take your pick kid," he replied. "I've only got one in use and I'm not expecting your classmates anytime soon."

Sam smiled at him, briefly wondering why it didn't bother her when _he_ called her 'kid'. "Thanks," she replied and moved off towards the machines.

"You might want to check out the viewing window of number three," he called to her. "If you want to see how it's done."

She raised a hand in acknowledgement and moved to simulator 3.

"Jack," she breathed, captivated by what she was seeing.

"Not bad huh?" Sergeant Thoms asked from beside her.

Sam glanced at him, then back to Jack. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Me neither," he agreed. Smiling he continued. "You wanna know a secret?"

"What?"

"Fifteen years ago, Jack O'Neill was right where you are now."

"Really?" Sam asked looking back through the viewing window. "Captain O'Neill actually came here?"

"Yep," replied the sergeant. "And you wanna know something else?"

Sam smiled at the man. "What?"

"You can't tell him I told you," he warned.

Sam sketched a cross over her heart with her fingers. "Promise."

"Your combat sim scores are higher than his were back then."

Sam's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me aren't you?" She asked after a moment.

The sergeant repeated her 'crossing' motion and just smiled as he walked away.

"Wow," she murmured as she watched Jack take out another enemy fighter, wondering if she could ever be that good.

After a few more minutes Sam moved off to another simulator to start her own run.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Jacob!" Colonel Ben Hanson said rising from his chair to greet his old friend. "I wasn't expecting to see you until tomorrow."

"Hi Ben," Brigadier General Jacob Carter replied shaking the Colonels hand.

"So what brings you here a day early?"

"Well I was originally coming this afternoon anyway," Jacob replied. "And then Sam, out of the blue, decides she wants to go to this dance tonight."

"And?"

"She's never shown any interest in going to a dance before."

Ben raised his eyebrows. " _And?_ " He asked a little more gently.

Jacob shrugged. "She's my little girl Ben," he replied a small smile coming to his lips. "Is it such a crime that I might want to see her at her very first dance?"

Ben laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "No crime at all Jacob."

"So you can find me a room for the night?" Jacob asked smiling.

"I think we can manage something," replied Ben.

"You know the funny thing though?" Jacob asked.

"What?"

"I can't figure out what changed her mind about tonight," Jacob said. "I mean one minute I'm trying to talk her into staying and the next..." He finished with a shrug.

Ben sighed and walked over to his office window that overlooked part of the training yard. He looked around for a moment until he found what he was searching for. "I think maybe I could shed some light on that one," he said glancing back at Jacob.

"Oh," Jacob replied sighing. "Don't tell me...some boy right?"

Bens eyebrows rose a little. "Ahh, well, not...exactly..."

Jacob frowned at his friends response as he moved to stand next to him at the window. He followed Bens gaze and smiled when he saw his daughter. Then he noticed who she was with. More importantly he noticed how they were acting and his mouth tightened into a hard line. He turned to Ben and pointed out the window. "Who the hell is that Ben?"

"Now Jacob, don't go overreacting..."

"Ben..."

Ben raised his hands. "He's the flight instructor this year..." At Jacobs look he continued. "Captain Jack O'Neill."

Jacob had been hearing about Jack O'Neill for the last seven years and if he were honest, he'd even been kind of jealous of the hero worship his daughter seemed to have when it came to the guy. Jacob looked back down to the yard to see Sam shove O'Neill in the chest, him grabbing her hand and pulling her off balance so that she stumbled into him, the resulting contact lasting way too long for Jacobs liking. He turned back to the Colonel.

"Get O'Neill up here Ben. _Now!_ "

Ben turned away from Jacob and blew out a silent breath wishing he'd kept his mouth shut about O'Neill.

Jack knocked briefly on the CO's doorjamb before walking in. "You wanted to see me Sir? Ah, Sirs?" He corrected standing to attention when he noticed the General standing there.

Ben Hanson stood from behind his desk. "Captain, this is Brigadier General Jacob Carter."

Jack glanced briefly at the stern faced officer wondering what dumbass thing he'd done this time to get him noticed by a Brigadier General. After an uncomfortable moment of silence his gaze slowly returned to the man, sick realisation dawning. _Oh for cryin out loud! Carter!_

Jacob took a step towards Jack O'Neill and was gratified to notice the man stiffen slightly though he didn't move away. "I've heard a lot about you."

Jack looked the man in the eye determined not to be intimidated. _I haven't done anything wrong._ "Sir?"

Jacob smiled. "You made quite the impression on my little girl a few years back at space camp."

"Carter...Samantha is quite a young woman Sir," Jack replied. "You should be very proud." He could see the General rankle at his referring to his daughter as a young woman and thought that probably wasn't his smartest move ever.

 _Smartass little prick,_ Jacob thought as he moved closer to the younger man. "I am _very_ proud of my daughter," Jacob replied. "Sam may be, as you say, a young woman Jack..."

 _Oh this cannot be leading anywhere good,_ Jack thought as the man stopped less than a foot from him.

"And she's smart as hell..."

Jack was about to reply, but at the look on General Carters face thought better of it.

"But she's also naive in a lot of ways," Jacob placed a hand on O'Neill's shoulder. "Do you get where I'm going with this Jack?"

Jack focussed his eyes forward. "I think so Sir."

"You think so?" Jacob asked dropping his hand from O'Neill's shoulder and moving back to Hanson's desk. "Well I'm glad we understand each other here Jack. She's looked up to you since she was this high," he said holding his hand about chest height. "And you'll never know how relieved I am to finally have met you. Do you know why Jack?"

"No Sir," Jack replied wishing this would hurry the hell up and be over.

"Because I can tell that you're the kind of guy who would never... _ever._..even _think_ of taking advantage of a young girl who looks up to you the way _my_ little girl does."

Jacks eyes focussed on the older man's and he made sure the General was equally focussed on him. There were a lot of things he wanted to say right now, but he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Most of the time. Okay, sometimes. But he knew this was one of those times. He trained his eyes back on Hanson.

Jacob looked to Hanson as well.

"Dismissed Captain."

Jack snapped to attention, saluted and performed a textbook turn and left Colonel Hanson's office. _Arrogant son of a bitch!_ he thought as he entered the hallway.

Ben Hanson sat down behind his desk. "Kinda hard on the guy weren't you Jake?"

Jacob Carter looked at his old friend. "Sam's my baby Ben and O'Neill must be at least thirty."

 _Thirty-two._ But he wasn't about to tell Jacob that. "I've been keeping an eye on things the last few days Jake, and, yes I will admit Sam seems pretty hung up on the guy. But I would have told you if I thought there was anything going on."

Jacob raised his eyebrows.

"Believe me, O'Neill is one of the good ones. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Sam, I'm sure of it."

Jacob sighed. "Yeah well Ben, if she's as hung up on the guy as you say...she's going to get hurt either way."

Ben smiled ruefully and clapped Jacob on the back. "Hazards of having teenage daughters my friend."

Jacob looked with some empathy at his friend who had two teenage daughters of his own.

"She's growing up, and you need to trust that she'll make the right decisions."

Jacob sighed. "It's not _her_ decisions I'm worried about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well I hope you enjoyed. I love Jacob and think its a shame we never got to see more of him, especially as the kickass Air Force General he would have been before he got sick.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey kiddo," Jacob said coming up behind his daughter in the training yard.

Sam turned startled eyes on him. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Jacob laughed. "Well it's nice to see you too."

She moved to give him a hug. "Sorry, it's just I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"I know," he replied. "But I'd already organised to come up today and I knew Colonel Hanson would be able to find me a room without too much trouble."

Sam sighed. "You're checking up on me aren't you?"

"What? Of course not!" Jacob replied, trying and failing to feign innocence.

"Dad," Sam warned.

"Okay, okay," Jacob confessed holding up a hand. "I wanted to see my little girl at her first ever dance. I thought you might save a dance for your old dad."

Sam felt like she'd just been smacked. There was no way Jack, or any other guy for that matter would dance with her if her father was there. "I don't think that the Senior Officers are coming," Sam argued.

"I know that," Jacob conceded. "But I'm sure Colonel Hanson wouldn't mind if I snuck in and had one dance with my daughter."

_Okay, okay. If he comes in at the start before everyone turns up I could manage one dance right? And then he leaves and then I can dance with Jack._

She smiled. "I'm sure he wouldn't Dad," she replied. "Why don't you come by my cabin when you're ready and we can walk over to the hall together. Then we can have the first dance..."

Jacob smiled and nodded. "And then dad can exit stage left and leave you with all those young guys."

Sam blushed slightly at her fathers words. She'd never spoken to him about boys before. There had never been any boys to speak about. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Of course you didn't," Jacob replied kissing her on the forehead. "I'm going to catch up with a few of the instructors so I'll see you at your cabin at what, seven?"

Sam panicked slightly thinking of her dad catching up with Jack but nodded her agreement.

Jacob smiled and started to turn away from his daughter. "Oh, by the way," he started casually as if it were an afterthought. "I met a friend of yours today."

"Oh?" Sam asked knowing already who he was talking about.

"Captain Jack O'Neill," he said watching her closely, trying to gauge if she was as smitten with O'Neill as what Ben Hanson seemed to think she was. _Well crap_ , Jacob thought noticing the blush creep up his daughters throat at the mention of the damned mans name.

"How did you run into Ja...Captain O'Neill?"

_Jesus bloody Christ!_ He thought. _She calls him Jack!_ And he realised by her quick attempt at a cover up that she knew it was out of line. His blood started a slow boil. "I saw you with him down here," he admitted. "I had Colonel Hanson call him up." At the look on Sam's face he continued. "I only wanted to talk to him Sammy."

She turned harsh eyes on him. "Interrogate him you mean," she accused.

_Well this is interesting,_ Jacob thought his ire increasing a notch. "And what would I have to interrogate him about?"

Sam crossed her arms over her chest then dropped them again when she realised what she had done. She and Jack had done nothing wrong and she'd read too many books about interpreting body language not to know how her father would be interpreting that movement.

"Absolutely nothing dad," she replied. "But I'm sure that wouldn't stop you."

Jacob had to fight to keep his eyes locked with his daughters. _God she's so much like her mother..._

"So you're not denying it," she challenged.

He sighed and move towards her placing his hands on her arms. "I worry about you, that's all."

"Jack would never do anything to hurt me," she tried to assure him.

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "You're calling him Jack sweetheart," he pointed out. "That in itself is enough for me to be concerned about."

Sam dropped her eyes knowing he was right about that. "It's only because I knew him when I was a little kid at space camp," she insisted quietly. "I called him Jack then." Her eyes returned to his and she shrugged. "He's always been Jack to me since I was ten. I keep forgetting that I'm supposed to be calling him Captain O'Neill here."

"And that's all?" Jacob asked.

"There is nothing else dad," she assured him. "He still thinks of me as ten year old Samantha Carter." Then she smiled. "So you have something in common."

"Hey!" He objected, then relented. "I can't help it if you'll always be my little girl Sammy."

"I know dad," she admitted. "Just try not to scare off _all_ the boys who might want to dance with me tonight?"

Jacob had no problem with _boys_ wanting to dance with his daughter. Air Force Captains? Well that was another matter entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another Jacob centric chapter. but Sam and Jack will be back with a vengeance in the next chapter when the time for the dance finally rolls around.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the last chapter was so short. This one is much longer and is just the start of the night of the dance. this will be over several chapters so I hope you stick with it 🙂  
> for those of you missing the Sam/Jack dynamic in the last few chapters - I promise you'll be seeing much more of it soon  
> again, thanks for reading and the comments and kudo ❤️

Jacob knocked on the door to his daughters cabin. "Come on kiddo," he called. "Time to go." A moment later he turned back when he heard the door open and was not prepared in the least for what he saw. _Holy Hannah_ , he thought his heart sinking and soaring in the same instant. _She really is a woman...damn it!_

Sam smiled uncertainly at him. Kim's mom had showed her how to apply the little make up she had on, and how to do her hair, but she wasn't sure if she'd managed to pull it off. At the moment the way her dad was looking at her she kinda thought she must resemble a circus clown.

"It's terrible isn't it?" She asked barely keeping the tears from her eyes. "I knew I wouldn't be able to do it properly."

At that moment Jacobs heart broke for his little girl. He shook his head feeling the wetness welling in his own eyes. "You're beautiful Sam," he whispered.

She looked up a him. "Really?"

Jacob felt a tear break free and course down his cheek.

"Dad?" Sam asked confused. "What's wrong?" She took his hands in hers looking into his eyes.

He wiped the treacherous tears from his face as he pulled his daughter to him. "I'm so proud of you Sam," he murmured into her hair. "You've grown into an amazing young woman." He pulled back and held her by the shoulders. "Your mom would be so proud of you."

Sam had never seen her dad cry before, not even when her mom had died. Mark had admitted that was one of the things that had made him hate their father so much. The thought that he hadn't loved their mother enough to cry for her.

"For goodness sakes dad," Sam protested as she swiped at her own face. "I really don't know how to fix this," she said motioning to her face. "If it starts to slide off my face because you're making me cry!"

Jacob laughed and hugged her close once again. "Come on," he said finally offering her his arm. "Let's go make some boys crazy."

Sam rolled her eyes and took his arm as they walked off towards the hall.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Jack took the ginger ale and looked at the bartender. "Really?" He asked holding up the drink.

The guy smiled and shrugged. "Sorry Captain, dry bar tonight."

"Great," Jack mumbled as he turned back to the room. "Somebody want to tell me how I'm supposed to get through tonight _without_ alcohol?"

"Hi Sir," said Barney as he stopped next to Jack.

"Hello Sir," repeated Dan.

Jack looked at the two of them. "Hey guys."

They smiled at each other then Dan nudged Barney.

"The girls from Camp Chiktaw all look really nice tonight don't you think Sir?" He asked.

"Huh?" Jack asked.

Barney nodded towards the large group of girls that had arrived about twenty minutes earlier.

Jack looked over to see them gathered in small groups, most of them giggling and darting glances in their direction.

He sighed. "Yeah, you guys should have a good time tonight," he replied. "So why don't you go over there and talk to them instead of me," Jack suggested as he took a sip of his drink. _There has_ got _to be some bourbon around here somewhere..._

"Well you should come with us Sir," Barney said.

"Yeah," added Dan.

Jack looked at them. "What?"

"Oh, not for the girls of course Sir," said Barney. "We just thought we'd give you a heads up that the three camp councillors that came with them have been checking you out pretty good."

Jack thought about that for a moment as he looked back to where the girls group was. "Yeah?"

"So you'll come over with us?"

"Fellas, while I appreciate you trying to help me out," Jack began. "You don't want an old guy like me cramping your style."

Barney and Dan glanced at each other before Dan nudged Barney again.

"Ah, well, you see Sir..."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Spit it out kid!"

Barney swallowed. "We hoped you'd kind of be our wingman."

Jack just about choked on his drink. "Your what!?"

"Our wingman Sir," Dan chimed in. "It's where..."

"I know what a wingman is!" Jack said cutting him off. "What the hell are you two thinking?" He demanded.

Barney shrugged. "We've already been hanging around the edges of the girls groups trying to get them to talk to us..."

Jack motioned with his hand for the boy to continue. "And?"

Dan sighed. "They just stare at us and laugh."

"And then they go back to whispering about _you_ ," Barney finished. "Sir," he added quickly.

_Great! Exactly what I need!_

"We think it's the uniform," said Dan.

"The..." Jack glanced down at himself. He had to admit even though he hated wearing his more formal uniforms women did seem to like them.

"So we thought...if we could get you to come over with us..."

"The girls would start talking to us..."

"And after that you could go talk to the councillors," Barney finished.

"They're pretty hot too," added Dan.

"Yeah..hey..why not," Jack replied.

The boys looked at each other, identical expressions like someone had just handed them a winning lottery ticket.

"Really Sir?" Asked Barney incredulous.

Jack rolled his eyes and put his drink on the bar. He lightly smacked each of them in the side of the head. "No not really! Get outta here!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Excuse us, Captain O'Neill?"

Jack turned away from the bar to come face to face with about eight of the girls from the camp. He put on his most charming smile. "Ladies, you all look very lovely tonight."

The girls all smiled and giggled nudging each other.

"How can I be of service?" He asked. _You know talk like that isn't helping right?_ He asked himself.

One girl stepped a little more forward of the others. _Designated spokesperson,_ Jack thought.

"We were just wondering whether, um," she glanced back at her friends. "Whether you were allowed to dance tonight?"

Jack was just about to answer that unfortunately, due to his chaperoning duties he wouldn't be able to dance with _anyone_ when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course he's allowed to," answered Sergeant Barry Thoms.

Jack gave him a look. "Actually I'm pretty sure chaperones _shouldn't_ be participating in the dancing," Jack contradicted through gritted teeth.

"Nonsense," Barry replied grinning from ear to ear. "Don't fret ladies I'll make sure Jack here finds the time to dance with each and every one of you."

_I will kill the man,_ Jack thought.

The girls all wore big smiles at Barry Thoms declaration looking at Jack expectantly.

"You know there are a lot of nice boys here to dance with as well," Jack tried desperately.

The girls all rolled their eyes as one.

_Do they practice this shit?_ Jack wondered as he watched them.

"That's the problem," said the spokesperson. "They're _boys!_ " There was a general murmur of assent through the group.

"Right," Jack replied. _Shit!_ He thought. _They're not going away. What the hell do I do now?_

"Ah, perhaps you could give Captain O'Neill and I some time to...do some chaperoning...things," Barry said. "And then he'll come find you girls later on huh?"

"Okay," several of them murmured shyly as they moved away as one.

Jack turned mightily pissed off eyes on his friend. "What the hell was that?" He demanded.

Barry's eyes lit up and he couldn't hold back the laugh. "I couldn't deny those lovely young ladies your attention Jack boy!"

Jack pointed in the direction the girls had gone. "If _you_ were their father, would you want your teenage daughters hanging around me?"

Barry clapped him on the shoulder. "I've got boys Jack," he said still smiling.

"And if you had girls?"

"I'd have a shotgun on you as soon as I laid eyes on you buddy."

"Well I think that's a bit overly dramatic," Jack replied.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well he doesn't seem to think so," Barry replied nodding towards the entrance.

Jack turned to see General Carter staring straight at him looking for all the world as though he'd like nothing more than to have a shotgun trained on him right at that moment.

"And I think I know why," Barry mumbled as he looked behind Jack.

At Barry's words Jack turned to see Carter walking towards them. _Holy_...He glanced quickly back at the General. _Alcohol or not I am_ definitely _not making it through tonight..._

"Hi Jack," Sam said shyly when she reached him.

Jack opened his mouth to reply then shut it again thinking he could get himself into a world of trouble here. To say that Carter looked incredible in that dress would be a gross understatement. Jack felt his fingers twitch, itching to reach out and touch her.

Just then the General appeared behind Carters shoulder.

"General," Jack greeted. Then he looked back down to Sam and smiled. "You look very nice tonight Carter," he said softly, noticing the General stiffen slightly behind his daughter.

Sam blushed at Jacks compliment. "So do you," she replied boldly.

"This old thing?" Jack joked, not able to ignore the Generals eyes boring into him as Sam giggled in response.

Jack turned to the dance floor seeing that some of the boys had finally been successful in getting girls to dance with them.

Jacob followed his gaze. "Come on Sammy," he said. "You promised me a dance remember?"

Sam rolled her eyes at Jack. "I'll see you later," she said as she moved toward the dance floor.

Jacob let his eyes rest on Jacks a moment longer before he followed his daughter.

"Wow," said Barry from behind him. "The old man's got it out for you."

Jack turned to him. "Yeah thanks for the tip," he replied. "And where the hell did you disappear to?"

Barry held up his hands. "When little Sam got here I saw the General making a b-line like he was on the warpath so I skedaddled."

Jack shook his head smiling at his friend.

"I'll have what he's having," came a voice from Jacks other side.

Barry raised an eyebrow at Jack and smiled.

When the bartender put the glass down on the bar Jack turned to the woman seated next to him and smiled. "Hello."

The rather attractive lady smiled back. "Hello."

"Captain Jack O'Neill," Jack said introducing himself.

The woman chuckled. "Ah yes I know." At Jacks look she continued. "You have quite the fan club going," she explained motioning towards several groups of girls.

"Ah, yes," Jack replied. "A fan club of teenage girls. Lucky me."

The woman smiled. "Well I think there's a few teenage boys around here that wouldn't mind that fan club."

Jack smiled at her. "They're welcome to it believe me."

The woman made to move and Jack put a hand on her arm. "You didn't say your name."

Raising a well groomed eyebrow the woman smirked. "No, I didn't," she replied as she walked off.

"Well that was an invitation if I ever heard one," Barry ventured.

Jack turned to him. "Where do you keep disappearing to?"

"I have the ability to blend."

"Blend?"

Barry shrugged and turned to face the room. "Don't look now but I think your head just exploded..."

"What?"

"The General just drilled you with a look that would have made a sniper proud."

"Great," replied Jack. "Just something else to be thankful for tonight."

"Jack," started Barry. "Don't take this the wrong way...but is something going on with you and little Sam?"

Jack stared at him. "No Barry," he replied harshly. "Nothing's going on with me and Carter."

"Then why's the General got such a hard on for you?'

Jack shrugged. "I guess he thinks Carter has a thing for me."

Barry snorted. "Well that's obvious," he replied. "But so does just about every other little girl here...not to mention most of the bigger ones..."

When Jack didn't answer Barry laid a hand on his shoulder. "This is really bugging you huh?"

"Ya think?"

"Well now I feel like a real jerk acting like I did with those girls," he admitted.

"Good," Jack replied.

"Hey why don't you go over and pick up one...or more...of the lovely lady councillors?" Barry suggested. "Dance with the three of them all night and the girls won't get a chance."

Jack looked over to where the three ladies in question were standing watching the rapidly multiplying number of couples on the dance floor. Something he and Barry were also supposed to be doing he reminded himself. Barry's suggestion did have merit. He looked more closely at the dancing kids and noticed Barney and Dan with two of the girls that had approached him earlier. He was pleased to see that the rest of the group had similarly relented and decided that dancing with _boys_ wasn't that bad after all. Maybe he would survive the night. Then his eyes landed on Carter just as she shook her head at the boy who stood in front of her. He watched the guy walk away defeated and glanced back to find her eyes on him. _Then again..._

Jack looked around the hall and noticed that the General seemed to have disappeared which made him relax a bit. He looked back in time to see Carter heading in his direction. He panicked, not knowing how to handle the Carter situation and, feeling like a coward made a b-line for the chaperones from the camp, striking up a conversation with the three of them.

After a few minutes a sufficiently slow song came on and he turned to them. "Would any of you ladies care to dance?" He asked all three.

They looked at each other and Jack saw some unspoken agreement pass between them.

"Sure," said the one that he had spoken to earlier.

As they moved around the dance floor Jack could feel Carters eyes on him and he tried to ignore it as he made small talk with the woman he was holding.

"You know that rather stunning young lady over there hasn't taken her eyes off you since we came out here," the woman who's name turned out to be Carol said.

"Oh?" Jack asked feigning indifference.

"She's not one of ours," Carol pointed out.

"No," Jack agreed. "Carter goes here."

Carol raised an eyebrow. "Carter?"

Jack smiled. "Is her last name. Sam...Samantha is her actual name."

Carol nodded. "I thought only boys came here."

"Mostly it's boys yeah," Jack agreed. "But usually there's maybe one or two girls every year. Carter's the only girl this year though."

"Must be hard for her," Carol observed.

Jack shrugged, the thought of Carter punching Dan coming to mind and making him smile. "She can take care of herself."

"Maybe you should go dance with her," Carol suggested.

That caught Jack off guard. "What? Why? Carter has more than enough boys wanting to dance with her."

"Yes," Carol agreed as she watched Sam turn down yet another young suitor. "But she's declined every one. Except for the rather distinguished looking older gentleman at the beginning of the evening."

"That was her father," Jack supplied.

Carol smiled. "So that's why you don't want to dance with her?" She asked. "He did look like he could be pretty scary."

"Yeah he can be," Jack agreed. "But no, that's _not_ why I don't want to dance with her."

"Well do tell Jack," she replied.

Jack looked at her a moment. "I've known the kid since she was ten years old," he explained finally. "Not that I want to sound conceited or anything, but she kind of has a case of hero worship going on and I'd feel like I was taking advantage of her or something."

Carol nodded thoughtfully.

"Besides, she's just a kid you know?"

The woman looked back to Sam. "She's an awfully grown up looking kid," she pointed out. "But then maybe that's the problem?"

Jack looked down at her letting her see she was right.

"You want to know a secret?" She asked. "All girls, no matter what age have a bit of hero worship going on for a man like you Jack," she confided looking towards her two colleagues. "You certainly look the part of the dashing hero in that uniform of yours," she said smiling.

Grudgingly Jack smiled back.

Sam watched as Jack took the very attractive lady to the dance floor with him and her heart sank. _Why would he want to dance with me when he can dance with someone like her?_ She thought miserably unable to look away. She swayed to the music wishing it was her out there with him.

"Hi Sam," said Donny Clark from beside her.

"Oh, hi Donny," Sam replied sparing him only a glance.

"Um, I was wondering if you'd want to dance?" he asked.

Sam was about to give her standard answer of no when she reconsidered. _I'm at my first ever dance, she thought. I probably_ should _dance with someone other than my dad._

"Sure Donny," she replied instead.

The boy grinned widely and reached for her hand.

Sam grimaced slightly as she followed him to the dance floor wondering if all boys hands were as sweaty as Donny's. She couldn't help but squirm a little when he settled his hand on her hip.

"Well maybe I was wrong," said Carol mildly.

"About what?" Jack asked.

"It seems Samantha Carter has found someone she wants to dance with after all."

Jack spun them around to see Carter dancing with Donny Clark. His eyes narrowed at where the boys hand made contact with her hip, but he was at least glad that it was Donny. He seemed like a good kid. _And he's the right age group,_ he reminded himself. He looked up and met Carters eyes for this first time since she had said hello early on and he could see she didn't want to be there dancing with the boy.

Carol smiled ruefully at the man in front of her. Samantha Carter might be young but Carol knew when she was out of her depth, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, Captain Jack O'Neill only had eyes for Carter. At the end of the song, Carol pulled her hand from his and rested it on his chest. When he looked down at her she smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for the dance Jack," she said softly. When Jack frowned at her she continued. "We both know I'm not the one you want to be dancing with." Jack opened his mouth to object and she placed a finger on his lips.

"How old is she?" She asked.

"Seventeen," he replied. "Eighteen at the end of the year."

Carol shrugged. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"But..."

"You like the girl or not?"

Jack didn't answer. He didn't have to.

"It's only a dance," she pointed out. As she went to leave she turned back. "There's another thing about men like you Jack," she said.

"And what's that?" He asked, not sure he was going to like the answer.

Carol smiled. "Try not to break her heart."

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and watched the woman walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was a really long chapter so I hope I didn't lose anyone part way through 🙂  
> hope you enjoyed the dance so far. More to come soon  
> Comments are appreciated as always 🙂


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has some song lyrics in it but I wouldn't call it songfic - they are at a dance after all 🙂
> 
> As always thanks to everyone that is following the story and for everyone that is taking the time to comment 🙂

Donny managed to keep Sam out on the dance floor through two more songs and Jack did his best to ignore how the boy held her hand in his, his hand resting on her hip. He actually thought he may have even ground his teeth when he saw the boys hand slip down lower. Luckily Carter pulled it straight back up before Jack managed to get his feet under him. _Yeah cause that'd look real good if you flattened the poor kid on the dance floor..._

Every time Donny would turn them Sam would take the lead and turn them back so she could see Jack. When she felt Donny's hand move down to her backside she thought Jack was going to flip. Her heart leapt as she wondered if that meant he really did have feelings for her. After all, he wasn't dancing with that lady anymore, or anyone else for that matter. She thought briefly about leaving Donny's hand there to see what Jack would do, but she really didn't like the feel of it so she quickly moved it back up to more neutral territory.

The next song started and Donny pulled her a little closer as he tried to swing them around again. Quickly Sam managed to swing them back. Her heart sped up when Jack didn't look away this time.

_When you get home babe, gonna light your fire  
All day I been thinking about you, babe you're my one desire  
Gonna wrap my arms around you, and hold you close to me  
Oh babe I wanna taste your lips, I wanna be your fantasy yeah_

Jack did look away then. _Jesus Christ O'Neill what the hell are you thinking?!_ Jack listened to the rest of the words of the song and wretchedly admitted to himself that it _was_ how he felt about Carter. He risked a glance in her direction to find her staring intently at him. _I'm so screwed..._

"Captain O'Neill? Jack?" A voice asked from beside him.

Jack turned to see the same girl that had spoken to him earlier standing there.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to dance?"

"Ah, thanks really," he said trying to say no as nicely as he knew how. "But I think I'm all danced out after Miss Stephens."

The girl knew when she was getting the brush off and as much as she would have loved to have made all her friends jealous by getting him to dance with her she wasn't going to beg no matter how gorgeous the guy was. "Well I hope you manage to have a nice evening anyway Jack," she said and smiled as she walked away.

_Huh_ , Jack thought as he watched her go. _What a nice girl._

The girls friends watched wide eyed as she returned to them.

"What did he say?" Asked one of them.

The girl huffed and crossed her arms looking over to their chaperones. "That he's all danced out after _Miss Stephens!"_

All the girls reacted as she had wanted them to.

"God! I can't believe her! This is supposed to be _our_ dance!"

"I know!" Said another. "As if a guy like that would be interested in _her!_ "

"I can't believe she's ruined the _whole_ night for the rest of us!" Another complained.

The girl smiled as she kept her eyes on Jack. She held up a hand to silence her friends. "Well I'm not going to let _her_ stop me from getting what I want."

"But he said no," said another of the girls uncertainly.

She rolled her eyes at the younger girl. "That's just because he doesn't know that he really meant yes," she said as a predatory smile came over her. "Oh, I'm gonna get him alright," she murmured to no one in particular.

Jack turned back to the room _really_ wishing there was bourbon in his ginger ale as he witnessed Donny Clarks hand slide down to cover Carters six again. As it was he was at least wishing for plastic cups since he was in danger of smashing the one he was currently holding.

When Donny's hand slipped down to her butt again and then actually squeezed Sam had enough. She grabbed the wrist of the offending hand and pointedly held it away from her, then pushed him hard in the chest with her other hand. "You're such a jerk Donny!" she said as she turned away.

"Well I'm sorry I'm not your _precious_ Captain O'Neill," Donny said. "I bet if it was him grabbing your ass you wouldn't be pushing _his_ hand away!"

Jack couldn't help but smile when Carter pushed the kid away. He saw Donny say something to her making her still and turn slowly back to him. He didn't hear what it was but he was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.

"Oh no," Jack mumbled. "Don't do it Carter. Whatever he said, just let it go." He watched as she battled with her anger, releasing a breath when he realised she had it under control. Sticking up for yourself was one thing, getting a reputation as a loose canon who can't keep your temper in check was another.

"You're not worth getting into trouble over Donny," Sam said finally as she turned and walked off to the restroom.

Jack got up and moved to the other side of the room giving Donny a glare as he passed. Glad to see the kid now looked slightly green around the gills Jack leaned against the wall so he was able to catch Carter when she exited. A few minutes later the door to the ladies room opened and Carter stepped out.

"Hey," Jack said catching her by surprise.

She walked over and leant against the wall near him.

He smiled at her. "I thought you were about to punch Donny a minute ago," he said.

"You saw that huh?"

Jack nodded. "You handled it well Carter."

She looked at him. "What happened to ' _never be afraid to stick up for yourself'_?" She asked.

"I think you got your point across," he replied. "The kid looked scared to death when you walked away and you didn't lay a finger on him."

Sam let a reluctant smile grace her lips. "You gotta know when to hold em and know when to fold em..."

Jack chuckled. "You know the darnedest things come out of your mouth sometimes..." _And now you're thinking about her mouth,_ he chided himself as his eyes dropped briefly to take in the slight curve of her lips. He cleared his throat as he looked back to her eyes. "So you gonna tell me what he said to make you react like that?"

She considered him for a moment. "No I'm not."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"And there's nothing I can do to change your mind about that?" He asked.

Sam looked at him and smiled. "Dance with me..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is one smart cookie 🙂
> 
> btw for those who don't know the song I mention in this chapter is called 'Kiss You All Over' by Exile
> 
> I pictured Jack standing there in his dress uniform looking somewhat delicious and thought he'd be perfect fantasy material which brought that song to mind 😉


	11. Chapter 11

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh you're good!"

She grinned then knowing that _finally_ she was going to get to dance with Jack O'Neill.

"Come on then," he said in an exasperated tone of voice as he held out his hand to her.

Sam put her hand in his and sighed when she felt his strong warm hand envelop hers.

When they got out onto the floor Jack kept a hold of her hand and swung her around to face him, bringing their joined hands up to rest against his chest as he placed his other hand on the swell of her hip.

Sam reached up and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder moving in a little closer.

As he looked down at her Carters eyes came up to his, her bottom lip held nervously between her teeth. _You're killing me here Carter..._

Then the song ended and they stood for an awkward moment before the next one started.

_Oh come on!_ Jack thought wondering if there was some cosmic joke being played on him right now. He was having enough trouble keeping his thoughts about the girl he was holding PG, and this certainly wasn't helping.

Sam's heart beat fast when the song started. She didn't know how many times she had lay on her bed in the dark listening to this song, thinking of Jack. And now, here she was dancing to it _with_ him.

Jack groaned when she moved in closer to him, her hand moving so that her thumb grazed the skin just above his collar, her head tucked into the crook of his neck. With the position Carter had put herself in he found that his hand naturally moved further around her waist bringing her into even closer contact with him. As she moved her head slightly he felt her breath on his hand and his heart rate sped up. He thought he felt her smile against his neck and Jack realised he was losing himself fast in the sensations she was causing in him. She moved their joined hands so that his knuckles grazed the soft skin of her cheek and he looked down at her at the same time she brought her eyes up to his. The song ringing loud in his ears.

_I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me  
I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me_

Jack was floored at the trust he saw in Carters face. Though there was something else he recognised in her look because he felt it too... _longing._ He wanted to look away but he couldn't. She smiled at him and tucked her head back into his chest. He took a deep breath wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. Looking around, his eyes settled on Barry. _I gotta get outta here,_ he thought as he tried to get his friends attention without Carter noticing.

"Oh!" said one of the group of girls pointing to the dance floor. "I guess he decided he wanted to dance after all." All the girls looked to where she was pointing and then looked to their leader.

She watched for a moment seething over what she saw then she noticed the Air Force Captain trying to get his friends attention. A cruel smile overtook her features as she realised what he was doing. "It's a _pity_ dance," she announced to her friends. "Look, he's trying to get his friends attention to get him out of it."

All the girls looked and saw that she was right. "Oh god!" One of them said. "That is just so sad!" And the others started to laugh.

The leader turned with her hand on her chest. "But how _nice_ is he to do that for her?" The others nodded their agreement.

When the song finished Jack moved back from Carter. "I have to go," he said quickly.

Sam looked a little startled. "Oh, well, yeah, if you have to go."

Jack looked over to Barry having finally got his attention and waved. "Barry needs me. To do some chaperoning." He was relieved to see Barry wave back.

Sam nodded. "Okay," she replied softly.

_'Don't break her heart'_ played through his head, but he didn't know how to do this any other way.

"Okay," he repeated, then turned to walk over to Barry.

"What was with all the hand signals?" Barry asked when Jack reached him.

Jack looked at him. "I was trying to get you to come over and rescue me."

Barry looked at him. "From little Sam?"

Jack shook his head at his friend and ordered another ginger ale.

Sam watched him go for a moment before moving away. As she reached the edge of the dance floor she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see one of the girls from the camp.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much you know," she said her voice sympathetic.

"Wouldn't worry about what?" Sam asked confused.

The girl brought her hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh," she replied. "You mean you didn't notice?"

Sam was starting to get annoyed with this girl. "Notice what?"

"Jack signalling to his friend over there."

Sam looked over to where Jack and Sergeant Thoms were standing at the bar. "Signalling? What for?"

"Why, to get him out of dancing with you of course," she replied.

Sam felt the blood drain from her face. She knew this girl was trying to hurt her, but she also knew what she was saying was true.

"So like I said before," the girl continued, a smile coming to her face. "I wouldn't be too worried about it. I mean it's not like a little girl like you would be able to give a man like Jack what he needs anyway," she finished, her voice dripping venom.

Sam looked her up and down. "I'm the same age as you."

She laughed. "Well now, there's age...and then there's experience."

Sam glanced from the girl to Jack and back again before turning her back on the girl and walking out the exit and into the night.

"Oops," the girl said smiling. "Oh well."

"Ah, Jack?" said Barry.

"What?"

"Little Sam just left and she looked pretty upset."

"What do you mean she just left?" He asked looking around. "She wouldn't leave without coming over to say goodbye."

"Well that girl over there just pulled her up and they were talking for a bit," Barry explained. "Then Sam looked over here...then she left."

Jack looked over to the girl to find her looking back at him a smug expression on her face. "Aw crap!" He mumbled realising that the girl must have seen him trying to get Barry's attention and then told Carter about it.

"You really buggered up didn't you?" Barry asked him.

Jack sighed. "Looks like it."

Barry pushed him off his stool. "Well go fix it!"

Jack looked at him and moved towards the exit.

The girl saw him heading towards the exit and moved to intercept him. "So how about that dance now?"

"No thanks," he said not quite so kindly this time.

She placed her hand on his arm. "But I saw you dancing with that other girl," she protested. "So I know you're not quite all danced out just yet."

Jacks skin crawled where she touched him. She was young and maybe she would change, but Jack had met many women like her in his life and he knew no one would like the person she would become. He shook her hand off and walked away without answering her.

"Jerk," she mumbled as she turned to go back to her friends.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack walked around the outside of the hall hoping that Carter hadn't gone too far. After a few minutes he found her leaning on the low wall of the ornamental garden that overlooked the pond.

"Hey," Jack said as he walked towards her. "I was wondering where you'd got to."

Sam wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "Felt like some fresh air," she replied without turning around.

Even over the music from inside the hall Jack could hear the break in her voice and he knew he'd messed up big time. "Way to go O'Neill," he mumbled under his breath as he moved to stand next to her. "It's nice out here," he said looking out over the pond.

She shrugged, keeping her eyes resolutely forward. She knew she'd break if she looked at him and she wouldn't let him see her cry over him.

After what seemed like forever Jack couldn't take her silence any longer. "Listen Carter," he began.

"You don't have to explain Jack," she interrupted. "I know you only danced with me because you felt sorry for me."

_"What?"_ He was about to ask her where she'd gotten that stupid idea from but of course he already knew. "Carter you're wrong about that." She finally turned to him then and the hurt he saw in her eyes made his heart clench in his chest.

"So you weren't signalling to Sergeant Thoms to get you away from me?" She demanded, angry now.

_Shit!_ "Well, actually...yeah I was," he admitted.

Sam swiped at her eyes and turned back to the pond. "Then please don't feel like you have to waste anymore of your time out here with me, _Sir!_ " She said emphasising his honorific.

"But it's not what you think," he tried again.

"Please, just leave me alone."

"Carter would you just listen to me?" He pleaded turning her to face him. "I did want to get away from you," he started, having to stop her from turning away from him again. "But it's not for the reasons you think."

Sam kept her head down so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. _I won't let him see me cry...I won't!_

Jack put a finger under her chin and raised it so that his eyes rested on hers. It was killing him that he'd made her cry and he let her see that.

"Then why?" She asked through her tears.

Jack let out a breath. "Because..." he found himself faltering.

"Because why Jack?"

He looked at her. "Because I can't be around you...feeling the way I feel..."

Jack placed a hand on her cheek and Sam moved into it feeling his thumb wipe away a tear then brush down across her cheekbone. Her heart was beating hard against her ribs her adrenaline spiking as he turned her face up to his again.

"You're cold," he whispered.

"No."

"You're trembling."

Sam shook her head slightly. "Not because of the cold."

You're _doing this to her Jack._ The thought made him feel heady and he looked up at the night sky taking in a deep breath, the strained sounds of the music from inside the hall filling the silence.

_Here I go, I'm shaking just like the breeze  
Hey babe, I need your hand to steady me_

Jack felt Carters hand come up to rest on his and he looked back down to her.

_I'm not denying, I'm frightened as much as you_   
_Though I'm barely touching you, I've shivers down my spine  
And it feels divine_

"Carter," he breathed.

"Why can't you be around me Jack?"

His eyes fell to her lips. "Because all I can think about," he whispered as he moved closer to her. "Is how much I want to kiss you, and it's getting harder and harder to stop."

Sam held her breath as Jack slowly moved towards her, her eyes closing as his lips just barely brushed hers.

Jack had to hold himself in check. This was Carter and he didn't want to scare her. At the last moment he closed his eyes his lips touching hers lightly before he pulled back slightly. He looked into her eyes wanting to make sure she wanted this and giving her time to push him away if she didn't. He saw the answer in her eyes and felt it in the brush of her thumb across his knuckles.

He brought his lips back down to hers increasing the pressure just slightly. Jack felt Sam's other hand move to the back of his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair. He groaned slightly at the feel of her short nails grazing his skin, his lips parting and he was startled to feel her tongue tentatively touch against his before moving away again. He started to pull back but found himself held in place by her hand on his neck.

Sam felt him start to pull away but she wasn't ready to let that happen yet. She had been craving this moment and she wanted more of what Jack was showing her.

Jack increased the pressure of his kiss, nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth, his tongue brushing across it. He felt Carter moan under him her lips parting and he took the invitation she gave him.

_Holy Hannah!_ Sam's addled brain managed when she felt Jacks warm soft tongue invade her mouth. Bringing her other hand up around his neck she let her blunt nails scrape lightly over the skin under her fingers and she felt him react immediately as he groaned and plunged his tongue deeper into her mouth. She dropped her right hand from around his neck to rest on his chest under his jacket.

After a long moment Jack pulled back and Carter let him this time. He rested his forehead on hers as he looked at her. "So now you know why I wanted to get away from you."

"I think that was a pretty good explanation," she breathed.

Jack smiled. "Just pretty good?"

"You could always try explaining a little more," she smiled as she pulled his mouth back down to hers.

Jack wasn't quite as gentle this time.

Slowly Sam closed her right hand on his chest letting her fingers catch in his shirt. Jack startled her when he spun them so that she was pressed against the low wall surrounding the garden, his other hand coming to rest low on her back.

He felt slight pressure on his chest and Jack pulled back moving away from her, worried he'd been too forceful with her. "Carter..."

She smiled. "It's okay," she assured. "This wall is really low and I was a bit worried we were going to topple over it."

Jack raised his eyebrows at that. "Oh, well..." He was cut short by Sam pulling herself against him, one hand on his hip the other moving to his neck again her nails raking his skin lightly. He closed his eyes and let out a soft groan. "You already figured out I like that huh?" He asked quietly.

"Uh huh," she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Well," he said looking down at her. "We'll just have to find something you like."

The low timbre of his voice sent a shiver down her spine and she gasped as he placed a hand on her hip pulling her hard against him, his lips moving down to her neck.

"Okay?" He asked as he pressed his lips lightly to the point just under her ear.

"Oh...yep..."

Jack smiled against her skin at her strangled reply. "How about now?" He asked as his teeth grazed the crook of her neck.

"Yes," she breathed. When he pulled back once again to look her in the eye, she couldn't keep the pleading tone from her voice, "Kiss me Jack, please?"

_Ah hell,_ he thought as his lips came down on hers. Carter was surprising him with her fervour. She responded to his every touch, wanting more, pulling him deeper.

"Let's get out of here huh?" Jack suggested, thinking that maybe they should go somewhere a little more private and talk about this. Plus it would give him some time to try to bring his breathing and his actions back under control.

Sam agreed and they walked along the path leading back to her cabin.

"Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Actually I think the deal was that you were the one supposed be answering the questions," he replied.

"Huh?"

"You said you'd tell me what Donny said to you if I danced with you," he reminded her. "Though I really _really_ did want to dance with you before that," he added quickly.

"You did?"

Jack glanced sideways at her. "Desperately..."

"Oh..."

"So, spill!"

Sam sighed. "Well I guess you noticed that Donny kept putting his hand on my butt." Jacks only reply was a small growl that made her smile.

"That last time before I pushed him away he actually had the nerve to squeeze!" She exclaimed.

"That little shit!" Jack replied. "No wonder you wanted to hit him!"

"That's not what made me want to hit him," she admitted. "It was what he said as I was leaving."

_Now we get to the crux of it._ "Which was?"

Sam squeezed her eyes shut as she quickly recited Donny's words. "He said that if it were your hand on my ass I wouldn't be pushing you away."

Jacks eyebrows rose. _Okay, didn't see that coming._ "Well that was pretty insulting," he admitted. "But I'm still glad you didn't hit him," he said quietly.

"It wasn't exactly _what_ he said that made me want to hit him," she admitted nervously. "It was that he was right...I wouldn't push you away..."

Jack looked at her then to find her staring back at him. After a moment he cleared his throat and looked back to the path ahead of them not knowing how to respond to her frank admission. They walked in silence for a while before he finally thought of something to say.

"So what did you want to ask me before anyway?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter," she replied quietly, having had enough embarrassing conversations for now.

"No, come on," he encouraged.

Taking a deep breath Sam decided to just ask. "How long have you wanted to kiss me like that?"

_Again, not what I was expecting._ "Oh I don't know..."

Sam tugged on his arm. "Come on," she encouraged really wanting to know the answer now she'd found the courage to ask the question. "Was it after we spent the day together?"

Jack thought about it. "Not really no," he replied. "I mean I guess I did kinda notice that you weren't a kid anymore that day," he admitted. "And maybe it _did_ cross my mind briefly what it would be like."

"But?" Sam prompted when he didn't continue.

He took a breath. "The first time that I realised that I really wanted to kiss you was last night."

Sam looked surprised. "Just last night?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Pretty much exactly the time you asked me if you could skip straight to the pie." He shrugged and smiled. "I thought that it'd be a pretty sweet deal to be that pie."

She laughed at that but said nothing more.

"So?" He asked giving her a nudge.

"So...what?"

"When did you know you wanted to kiss me?"

"Oh, well," she said, clearly thinking hard about it. "I guess it seems like forever now," she admitted. "I think I came home from space camp with a bit of a crush on you, and then..."

"And then?"

"And I kept your picture from the space camp stuff and the past few years I suppose I've been imagining more what it would be like to be with you."

_Years!?_ Jack thought.

They reached Sam's cabin and she climbed a couple of steps before turning back to him so that they were eye to eye.

"Though I could never imagine what it would really be like of course," she added shyly.

Jack looked at her. "Why?" He asked suddenly very curious. "I can't kiss that differently from other guys."

Sam dipped her head. "Well unless you count Jeremy Collins in fifth grade, and after tonight I'm not really inclined to..."

It dawned on Jack exactly what she was saying to him and it sent him reeling. _Damn!_ _That was her first kiss!?_

"So um," Sam started uncertainly looking back over her shoulder to the door of her cabin. "Do you want to come in?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that Jack suffiently managed to make it up to Sam 😉
> 
> The song in this chapter was 'Show me heaven' by Maria McKee. I know it wasn't actually released until about 5 years after I set this but it's the song I wanted for their moment so you'll just have to allow my artistic freedom 😁
> 
> And now onto the last chapter of this one


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we go - last chapter.  
> I'm going to miss these two 😢 But all good things must come to an end.  
> I hope you enjoy it 🙂

He thought for only a moment before responding. "That might not be such a good idea."

She looked at him uncertainly. "You don't want to?"

Jack grimaced. "I do, but..."

Sam reached out her hand taking his, stalling his refusal. She pulled lightly as she turned towards her door.

And he followed.

 _Bad idea Jack!_ He warned himself as he walked past her into the room. He glanced around briefly before turning back to face her when he heard the door shut. _Really!_ Such _a bad idea..._

He knew it! He just _knew_ how colossally bad this was. _So why can't I stop myself?_

 _Okay, now what genius!?_ Sam's brain challenged. "I'll put some music on," she said as she hurried past him. _Oh god! This seemed like such a good idea when we were standing outside..._

Jack couldn't help but notice how nervous she seemed now they were behind closed doors and he shook his head slightly. _God she's so young. What the hell am I doing?_

"Carter," he said watching as she fidgeted with her cassette player.

"I'm not sure I'll have music you'll like," she said flipping through her tapes.

He took a step towards her. "Carter," he tried again.

"Oh!" She exclaimed holding up a cassette. "I think you'll like this one."

Jack waited while she inserted the little black tape into the player and pressed the play button. _Maybe some music will calm her down,_ he thought as he watched her. After a few moments when she hadn't turned to face him he crossed to her, touching her arm lightly.

"I think I should go," he said softly.

She turned to face him then. "Please don't," she said reaching out towards him.

Jack took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "It's obvious me being here is making you uncomfortable," he said.

"But Jack..."

"And that's okay," he said cutting off her objection. "Actually," he continued rubbing a hand through his hair. "It's perfectly understandable, and I'm a complete jerk for even coming in here. I'm sorry," he said shaking his head as he turned to leave.

Sam stared at him wide eyed not really comprehending what was happening, she just knew she didn't want him to leave. She reached him as his hand landed on the door handle. "Please, don't go," she said placing a hand on his arm.

Jack gripped the handle and squeezed his eyes tight. _Leave Jack. Now! Just get out!_

He was about to ignore his own advice when the next song started.

...

_I should be sayin goodnight now, I really shouldn't stay anymore_

_Been so long since I held ya, forgotten what love is for_

_I should run on the double, I think I'm in trouble_

_..._

If Jack needed any sort of sign that was it. He pulled the door open and stepped out into the cool night air moving over to the edge of the small porch and wrapping his hands around the railing, breathing the fresh air deeply.

Sam watched him from the doorway for a moment before moving over to him, placing her hand over his on the railing. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked in a small voice.

 _God I feel like such an asshole right now._ He turned to her and stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek. "Of course not Carter," he assured her.

"Then why..."

He sighed heavily, placing his hands on her shoulders he pulled her into him resting his chin on the top of her head. "There are too many reasons..."

She pulled back and looked up at him defiantly. "It's my father isn't it?"

Jack thought about saying no, but he didn't want to lie to her. "He's part of it yes," he admitted.

"I knew it!" She cried, trying to pull away form him.

Jack held her steady. "But he's not the only reason and he's not even the main reason."

She looked a question at him.

"You're young Carter..."

"I'm nearly eighteen..."

"I know that and that actually proves _my_ point more than yours," he told her.

"So what else then?"

"I'm nearly twice your age," he started, surprised by her derisive snort at his remark.

"You're fifteen years older than I am," she argued. "I'm seventeen so you're _not_ twice my age!"

"Again...proving my point more than yours."

"They were the same point," she argued.

They were silent again for a time and Jack sighed leaning his forehead against hers. "Carter, I know you think you're in love with me..."

"I am!" She argued.

"You only think you are," he replied, placing a finger on her lips to forestall her argument. "You'll run into me again in a few years time and you'll wonder what you ever saw in me."

Sam shook her head. "I won't Jack..."

Jack smiled ruefully. "I wish it weren't true," he said sadly, half because of how upset she looked right now, and half because he actually believed what he said. "But girls like you don't end up with guys like me."

She frowned. "I don't understand," she replied truthfully.

"When beautiful, smart, funny, wonderful girls like you grow up," he said softly. "They don't want guys like me."

"That's not true! You, you're...I'll never want anyone but you!" she cried. "And what about what you said to me tonight? That you couldn't be around me without wanting to kiss me? That you wanted to be...the pie," she argued, feeling a little silly when _those_ particular words came out of her mouth. "Did you even mean any of that stuff? You said you wanted to come in..."

Jack raked his hands through his hair and shook his head. "I did mean it. All of it," he assured her. "But I also had no right to say any of those things to you," he explained. "I've made this whole thing so much harder than it ever needed to be." _God how did I let it go this far!?_

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

 _Ah crap!_ He pulled her into his chest once again, selfishly allowing himself this last contact with his beautiful girl. "You have nothing to be sorry for you hear me? This is all on me and I'm so sorry that it's hurting you the way it is."

"I'll never stop loving you Jack," said sobbed tightening her hold on him.

He heaved out a breath before untangling himself from her embrace. Lifting her face to his he smiled at her as best he could. He knew he was doing what Carol Stephens told him not to. He could see her heart breaking before his eyes and he was powerless to stop it.

_I'm doing this for her. This is the way it has to be._

He kept repeating the words over and over in his head afraid that if he stopped...he'd stay...

He brushed his lips over hers one final time. "I'm sorry Sam," he whispered before turning and jogging down the steps.

"Jack," she called.

Jack didn't look back as Carter called to him. He just kept walking thinking that Carol Stephens never told him that his heart would be breaking too...

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Jacob was surprised to see Sam's things out on the porch of her cabin when he came to collect her.

"Hey kiddo," he greeted his daughter as she stepped out of the cabin and pulled the door closed behind her.

"Hi Dad," she replied.

"How was the dance last night?"

"It was okay," she replied giving him a faint smile.

Jacobs eyebrows rose. "Just okay?"

Sam shrugged and shouldered her pack.

"I thought we might go and get some breakfast before we leave," he suggested.

Sam panicked slightly at the thought of running into Jack. "I'm not really hungry, so if it's okay with you I'd rather just get going."

Jacob sighed. _Okay, something definitely happened last night,_ he thought. Deciding not to push the issue right now he grabbed Sam's other bag and they headed off towards his car.

Jack blew out a breath as he watched Carter get in the passenger side of the car with her father. He had hoped to catch her this morning before she left so he could maybe better explain why he'd left last night. But what else was he supposed to say that he hadn't already said last night? Maybe he could have found better words to tell her, but the message would still be the same.

As he turned to go pack his stuff he prayed that Samantha Carter would be able to get over him quickly. He had a feeling that it was going to take him a _very_ long time to get over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peeks nervously through fingers* 😉
> 
> Angsty at the end I know, but hey that's teenage love right? From my favourite John Hughes film Sixteen Candles:
> 
> "that's why they call them crushes. If they were easy they'd call them something else."
> 
> The song in this chapter is 'Trouble' by Lindsay Buckingham btw
> 
> This chapter started off quite differently when I first started writing it. Sam(and my imagination) got quite carried away with a Jack who wasn't quite as strong willed as this one. I know how I would've felt at 17 if I had the man of my fantasies at my fingertips 🤤❤️  
> But then after writing most of the final chapter I ended up doing a rewrite.  
> If there's enough interest from you guys in wanting to read it then I'll post the original chapter as a separate story. I will warn anyone who may be interested in reading it though it would move from the T rating of the rest of the story into M/ E territory. So if you want it let me know.
> 
> Also of course let me know how you liked this story regardless 🙂
> 
> And I wanted to thank everyone for reading and following the story and giving comments and kudos
> 
> There are two more stories in this Heartbreaker series AU and I’ll post them here soon so I hope you’ll continue to want to read about this Sam And Jack, though as with the first two stories there are a few years between the end of one story and the start of the next so we see them through continuing stages of their lives.  
> I did also write an intermediate story that sort of paralleled this one that included another of our SG-1 favourites so I’ll post that too


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